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A domain name that directed users to a pay-per-click page has been recovered by media company Virgin Enterprises
The domain, virginmobile.me, was registered in May 2016 by Varshik Motwani. It included links to competitors of Virgin.
Virgin complained to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Arbitration and Media Center in November last year.
The media company owns trademarks worldwide for ‘Virgin’ and ‘Virgin Mobile’, including US registration numbers 76301009 and 73511000.
Gabriel Leonardos, sole panellist in the dispute, found that the domain was confusingly similar to Virgin’s marks, that the respondent had no rights or legitimate interests in it, and that the domain was being used in bad faith.
“The panel acknowledges that Virgin Mobile is a widely known trademark and believes that the disputed domain name may cause confusion, since its most distinctive feature, the term ‘Virgin Mobile’, is identical to complainant’s trademark,” said Leonardos.
Leonardos added that the dispute domain was being used in connection with a commercial link service, or “link farm”, designed to lure users and divert them to other commercial sites, meaning that the domain was being used in bad faith.
Virgin Enterprises, domain names, World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Media Center, WIPO, trademark, media,
